Fluid-pressure-regulating gage.



G. L. KENNEDY. FLUID PRESSURE REGULATING GAGE APPLIOATION FILED 1211.1, 1910.'

INVYENTOR fwf;

mwa/@1111? ArmRNEy Patented Nov.g5,1913.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

GUY L. KENNEDY, .oF sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AssIGNoR To NATIONAL CARBONATED LIQUID COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

FLUID-PRESSURE-REG-ULATING GAGE.

Loraeoo.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 25', 1913.

Application filed February 1, 1910. Serial No. 541,215.

following is a specification.

This lnvention relates to fluid pressure regulators of that type including a diaphragm-opened valve that controls the ressure of the fluid passing through'the regu- L lator."

The invention has for an object to improve and simplify the construction and operation of apparatus of this character so` as to be reliable and efficient in use, composed of comparatively few parts, and so designed as to be extremely sensitive in operation.

Another yobject of the invention is the provision of a regulator having a controlling valve that is locatedy in the inlet passage and is movable axially thereof so that the energy of the flowing, iui'd creates a thrust on the valve that tends to seat the same, the seating of the valve being opposed by the spring-tensioned diaphragm of the regulator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel valve which-merely bears' against and 1s not connected with the diaphragm so that excessive strain willA not be brought to bear on the valve or its seat when the increasing pressure on the diaphragm moves the latter in the direction to permit the valve to close.

Another obj ect is the employment of simple, feective and novel means for adjusting the set of the tensioning or weighting spring of the diaphragm.

With these obglects 1n view and others, as will appear as t e description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel ufeatures of construction and arrangement of arts which will be more fully described hereinafter and 'set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto. i

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one-embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a central vertical 'section of the' pressure regulatorwith certain parts shown in elevation. Fi 2 is an enlarged view of A the upper en'd o the regulator showing .the

vat .the other end. The

micrometer adjusting means for the diaphragm spring.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding part-s throughout the views.

Referring to thev drawing, the casing of theregulator consists of two sections 1 and 2, of suitable design' to inclose a chamber that is separated by a rubber or other equivalent diaphragm 3 into a'luid pressure' chamber 6 and a piston chamber. 7; The

peripheral portion of the diaphragm isy clamped between the sections 1 and 2 of the casing, said. sections being fastened together by bolts or screws 4 that pass through the flange 5 of the section 1 and screw into thev section 2,' whereby a fluid-tight joint is obtained between the sections. In the upper chamber 7 which is preferably cylindrical,

' is a piston 9 which is of substantiallythe same area as the portionv of the diaphragm that is exposed to Huid pressure the piston forming. a support or backing for the diaphragm. Pressing on the diaphragm is a helical sprin 10 which has one end fitted around a stu 11 on the piston. This spring is disposed axially Vof the iston and extends into a tubular extenslon 12 or neck on the section 2 of the casing. In this chamber 12 is a movable abutment 14 fdr the upper end of the spring 10. This abutment is in the form of Aa disk that has a centering stud 13 that extends into the upper end of the spring.

Bearing on the upper side of the abutment 14 isan adjusting stem or pin15 that' slides through an opening in the top of the chamber 12 so that the said top forms a guide for the stem 15, the said stemextendmg out of thetop ofthe casing.- S'Ci'ewed'"l on the tubular extension 12 is a cap 18 .that

bears on the upper end of the stem or pin.

15 so as to regulate theposition ofthe abutment 14 and hence the tension of the spring 10. The oplposing members 14 and 18 be-' tween whic the pin 15 is held have alining recesses 22 and 17, the former of which is shallower than the latter and the pin' 1:5.'V has a conical point 16 at `one end and is V,blunt v pin 15 ucan be reversed so that the pointed' end will engage in either recess or seat 22 or 17 so as vto* thereby vary the effective length. ofthe pin, with the result that the distanc'e'between the cap 18 and abutment 14 can be changed. This reversal of the pin 15 serves to lengthen the range of adjustment of the spring 10 by the cap 18. In other words, the cap 18 can, by its rotary movement, adjust the tenoperating witli this annular scale is a vertical index line that forms a part` of the scale 21, the latter scale being divided by hundreds. Thus by turning the cap 18, the pressure in ounces, pounds or other denominations can `be read fro'm the two scales 20 and 21 in the samemanner'as-an ordinary micrometer. With the construction thus described, the diaphragm 3 and piston 9 will pulsate with the variations in pressure4 of the fluid acting on the diaphragm, andA in order to permit free movement of the piston 9, the chamber 7 is open to the atmosphere through a pressure equalizing port 23. v -In the section l of the casing is a periph-- eral groove 24 by which a couplin device can beengaged with the casing of t e pressure regulator for connecting the latter with a container of fluid under pressure, the outlet of such container being partially shown in Fig. 1. Arranged in line with the bore of the outlet of the container is an o en-l ing\25 formed in a plug 26 that is adjustable in the central passage 27 formed in the section 1 of the casing. This plug 26 yforms an adjustable abutment or seat for one end of a relatively light helical spring 28 on whichrests the controlling valve. This controlling Valve consists of a head or enlargement 29 that is connected by a slender stem 30 .with an enlargement or head 31Y that bears centrally on the diaphragm 3 but is not mechanically connected therewith. The stem 30 slides freely through a port 32 between the inner end of the passage 27 and diaphragm chamber 6, and it will be noted that this stem is smaller indiameter than the port 32 so that the fluid can pass readily into the chamber 6. A seat 33 of rubber or other suitable material is arranged against the 'shoulder formed between the inner end of the passage 27 and port 32, and in this seatis a conical opening 36 in which enters a conical projection 34 on the valve 29. In the construction shown and described, it will be noted that the valve is confined between the spring 28 on one side and the diaphragm 3 and spring 10 on the other side and it fioats to and from open position without the In order to regulate t-heset of thel need of a guide, so that there is no friction at the valve. The axes of the piston spring 10, spring28 and valve, are in alinement, so that there exists no lateral st-rain tending to throw the valve to one side or the other, where its stem would rub on the port 32. Another feature characteristic of the arrangement of the parts is that the fluid flowing through the regulator passes in a straight line and as the result the fvz's viva of the moving fluid creates a considerable thrust on the valve that tends to seat the same. By utilizing the energy of the fluid in this manner, only a relatively light spring 28 is required for the valve. The fullforce of the fiuid is obtained by reason of the fact thatthe bore of the outlet .of the fiuid container, the bore 25 in the plug 26, and passage 27, are axially in alinement with each other and with the valve, which latter closes in the direction in which the fiuid is acting thereon; The chamber 6 lhas an outlet by means of a passage 37 leading downwardly therefrom, which passage communicates witlran outlet pipe 38 that screws into the side of the section l of the casing. The entire volume of fiuid passing through the post 32 acts on the diaphragm so that any variation in the pressure of the fiuid delivered from the regulator affects. the position of the piston 9 and in turn the position of the valve 29. By reason of this, the regulator is quick acting and extremely sensitive. Since the valve is not mechanically connected with the diaphragm, the latter can have a greater range of movement than the valve itself under excessively high pressure of fluid in the chamber 6, the advantage of this being that destructive strain on the valve and its seat is avoided, as would be the case if the valve were mechanically connected with the diaphragm and piston.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to 'those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:-

1. A pressure regulator including a chamber,.an inlet for the chamber, an outlet for ,the chamber, a valve controlling the fluid admitted to the chamber, a diaphragm acting on the valve and responsive to variations in fluid pressure in the chamber, an adjustable tensioning means for the diaphragm, a rotary element for adjusting the said means within a given range, and a device reversib'ly mounted between the means and element tol change the range of adjustment of the said means.

2. A pressure regulator including a chamber, an inlet for the chamber, an outlet for the chamber, a valve controlling the HuidV admittedV to the chamber, a diaphragm' vice reversibly mounted between the means and element to change the range of adjustment of the said means, and a fixed guide through which the said device slides.

3.'A pressure' regulator including a chamber, an inlet for the chamber, an outlet for the chamber, a valve controlling the Huid admitted to the chamber, a diaphragm acting on the valve' and responsive to variations in fiuid pressure in the chamber, an adjustable tensioning means for the diaphragm, a central stem engaging the said means and reversible with respect thereto, and an element threaded to the casing and operating through the stem to adjust the tension of the said means.

4. A pressure regulator including a chamber, an inlet for the chamber, an outlet for the chamber, a valve controlling the fluid admitted to the chamber, a diaphragm acting on the valve and responsive to variations in fluid ,pressure in the chamber, an adjustable tensioning means for the diaphragm, a central stem engaging the said means and reversible with respect thereto, and a cap threaded on the casing and engaging the said stem, one end of thestem being blunt and the other end being pointed and the cap having a-seat for receiving t-he said pointed end.

5. In a .pressure regulator comprising a valve controlling diaphragm responsive to 4 fluid pressure, a casing inclosing the diaphragm, a spring acting on the diaphragm, a member forming an abutment for the spring, a rotary spring adjusting member threaded to the casmg, and a pin interposed between the members and axially engaging the adjusting member, said pin being reversible and so related to the members as `to increase or diminish the distance between the members when the pm is reversed.

6. In a pressure regulator comprising a valve controlling diaphragm responsive to fluid pressure, a casing inel'osing the diaphragm, a spring acting on the diaphragm, a member forming an abutment for the spring, a rotary spring adjusting member threaded to the casing, a pin interposed between the members and axially engaging the adjusting member, said pin being reversi'- ble and so related to the members as to increase or diminish the distance between the members when the .pin is reversed,l and a.

guide on the casing through which the pin slides and engaging an intermediate portion of the pin to prevent lateral displacement thereof.

In testimony whereof 1 have hereunto set my hand in the presence of' two subscribing witnesses. Y

GUY L. KENNEDY.

Vitnesses:

FRANCIS M. WRIGHT, D.B. RICHARDS. 

